Read the selection and answer the question. Which sentence can be deleted because it does NOT
maintain the focus of the selection?
O
A 5
BG
(1) The dominant military formation of the Hellenistic world was the phalanx. (2) Soldiers would line up
shoulder to shoulder in large, tightly packed squares. (3) The first row of the phalanx would look like a wall of
bronze shields with long, pointed spears jutting out between and above the shields. (4) This was the ancient
equivalent of a tank, slow and armored, these formations where known to repel considerably larger
armles. (5) The famed Spartan warriors at Thermopylae repelled a debated one million Perslan soldiers for
days by employing this tactic. (6) For the second time since Marathon, the Persian troops
underestimated the resolve of the Greek soldiers. (7) This same phalanx technique would be employed by
Alexander the Great to conquer most of the known world. (8) However, the phalanx had a major disadvantage
In that an enemy needed only to outmaneuver the comparatively slower phalanx and attack from the side or
behind. (9) Troops in the phalanx were arranged so tightly that they would have difficulty turning around and
would be unable to use their spears or shields.
O
C7
D8